Autumn leaves

Now that we have a big yard with two huge trees, we have lots of leaves to rake.  The kids are happy to do it -- as long as they can jump in it afterwards.  Plus, Rob has a new Saturday chore system which allows them to earn money for college.  It's motivating for Anna, but not the others quite yet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday in the U.S.  No worry about presents, just lots of good food and plenty of thankfulness.  Here in Switzerland, Thanksgiving is rather disappointing.   We often get together with other families, but there is no holiday, so we have to rush and do it after work and before it gets too late for the kids, who have school the next morning.  This year we just did our own little dinner.  I miraculously found a frozen turkey the day before, so I had to rush to unthaw it and brine it before the big day.  Kari made homemade rolls.  I never make these and they were so yummy.  This is the first time I've actually made the turkey myself and it turned out marvelously tender with the brining.  I'm really good at the dessert side because that is my favorite part.  Because our gathering was so small, however, I skipped all the other pies and made my standard pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust.  It was a lot of work for a small family meal.  But, hey, Thanksgiving only comes once a year.

Posing with all our chefs.

Natasha is ready to eat!!!

Ya! Ya!

Natasha is not one to sit quietly at the dinner table.  Almost every night without fail, she gets up from her seat, climbs onto the bench with the other kids, stands behind them and hugs them while rocking and singing "Ya, ya, ya, ya".  I really thinks she means "La, la, la, la" but she can't pronounce her L's yet.  I should reprimand her for leaving her place, but it's so adorable.

Start spreading the news. . .

Rob and I just returned from a refreshing trip to New York City.  Rob has a conference there each November and I have joined him for the past couple years.  I love returning to the Big Apple.  I have so many fond memories of the place, especially because it is where Rob and I met and dated.  Plus, there is a certain reviving energy I feel every time I visit.  We get to see shows, go to museums and meet up with old friends.  Rob will never live there because he doesn't like the crowds, but I love the crowds, the excitement, the anonymity (and perhaps the independence from my overwhelming job of motherhood) that I feel when I'm there.  Someday we will have to take our children.

The view out the window of our fancy-schmanzy midtown hotel.

I finally was able to see the September 11 Memorial.  It is quite beautifully done. 

However, returning there still gives me chills.

I convinced my parents to meet us there.  My dad had business in New York anyhow.  It was so much fun to see them and CK, Carl and their darling baby Athelia Claire.  What a treat!

Here I am in front of 1 Liberty Plaza, my old office building. 

I think it's getting some sort of a facelift.

Rob is not very excited to have his picture taken in Central Park.

I went for a run in Central Park and had to take photos of the autumn leaves.  Switzerland is beautifully green, but the fall leaves are not as nice as the East Coast.

Rob in front of his old apartment building -- where he lived when we were dating.

And Baby Number 5 will be. . .

We wanted to do something fun to inform our children of the sex of our upcoming new baby.  I made cupcakes and wrote letters on each of the cupcakes.  I then scrambled them and the kids had to unscramble them to find out the sex.  Here is the final result:

 You would think that the kids would have figured it out immediately by the color of the cupcakes.  But blue is Anna's favorite color so it's not very gender-typed in our house.

Notice the look of surprise and excitement on everyone's faces -- except Natasha, who doesn't know what to think.  Tyler somehow thinks that the new baby will replace Natasha in the family (because "she always hits me").  Sorry bud, she's staying with us for life!